Rapid-Response Listening and Responding
Published Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I just read an interesting blog by Paul Gillian "The Decade That Transformed Media" about the contraction of traditional mass market media over the last decade. The mind-boggling statics he cites illustrate how quickly things are changing in the world. A mere decade ago, most people had never heard of Google or blogs. People used their mobile phones for talking, and got their news from old-fashioned newspapers and magazines. Facebook and Twitter hadn't even been invented yet.
Today, my two kids couldn't begin to imagine life without cell phones and iPods. The amount of information available at their fingertips would have been beyond my wildest dreams when I was a kid. |
As new technologies continue to redefine how we communicate, what does it all mean for marketers? For starters, it means companies have to turbo-charge how they listen to and engage their customers. Virtually any customer can write a glowing review, post a tweet, or publicly rant about their dissatisfaction online. Companies beware. Keeping up with and responding to these far-flung conversations is already tremendously challenging and promises to remain so as social media tools continue to evolve.
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The amount of online clutter in cyberspace is daunting, but customers expect that they'll be heard and taken seriously. Savvy companies must invest in the resources and tools they need to create a meaningful dialogue with their customers. Social media may be new, but listening to your customers is an age-old ingredient for success.
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| Kathy Babin is a senior marketing and social media strategist for Antiphony. In addition to helping companies market their products and tell their stories, she enjoys vegetarian cooking, yoga, running, and spending time with her husband, kids and labrador retriever. |
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